Turned Tides [Anora]

[Josh Dragovalor]

Exis Station

It was on Exis Station, that the Jedi Master was to engage in a session with his newest Padawan. Anora, he almost felt a sense of deja vu when he uttered the name but he didn't really think much of it. If he had met her before in this galaxy, he simply did not remember. What mattered now was that the aspiring Jedi was his newest Padawan, and as a member of the Jedi Order, she was to be trained to the best of his abilities.

Anora would find him in the training hall, as she had been summoned to. His legs were crossed, his eyes closed, as he remained seated, not moving. Calm, collected... Relaxed.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Admittedly, when waking up this morning there wasn't a moment Anora had even closely thought that some sort of summoning would occur. Not one that had to do with her at least, and most definitely not one directly involving her. She had seen it happen to others, and while not always bad news, it wasn't always good news either. Being called forth to any Master at random - was it random? It felt random, but perhaps that was nerves... - could make or break you, and it just wasn't something Anora had expected nor hoped for at any point in the near future.

Unfortunately for her, the unexpected had come to be.

She had then of course made haste to get herself at least somewhat presentable, and then not keep this Master waiting. Punctuality was at least something she was good at. So she had arrived at the training hall in good time, and yet slowed to an obviously uncertain stride as she made her way further in. Of course she spotted him right away, but uncertainty made her glance behind herself before she refocused her attention forward. Her feet carried her only so far before she stopped and stood presentable, albeit still slightly uncertain and growing more and more curious.

Nothing was said for the time being, since she wasn't sure whether or not this was a 'speak when spoken to' sort of ordeal or not. So she stood in silence, and waited.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Of course, Josh wasn't one to just summon her with no warning. He always let them know ahead of time if they were being summoned for a training session, but it appeared as though his new Padawan hadn't exactly set her schedule right. Well, that would be rectified by the time she was a Knight... If she made it that far. Regardless, whether she had remembered or not, his new Padawan had been summoned for a training session as per the usual schedule. And the training room was where she would find him.

As she entered, he stayed there a moment, relaxed... Serene. And then he would rise to his feet, not looking at her as he held out a hand. A training lightsaber would fly from the nearby rack and into his hand. Training lightsabers worked the same as their more official counterparts, except they were turned down to low power permanently. They were not meant to be used in combat situations, only training.

And with that, he would toss it back over his head for her to catch, before turning to face her. It was clear that he had called her for lightsaber training. It was his specialty, after all... His gaze was fierce, and yet serene at the same time. Emotional... Yet emotionless. Blank and yet full of life.

He motioned for her to make the first move.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Well, at least she wasn't baffled enough to miss a saber being tossed at her, and as such the brunette caught the training weapon without fuss or fumbling. She studied it for a moment, and was at least slightly relieved that it was something she could handle. She obviously still had quite a ways to go, and plenty left to learn, but at least this was something she wasn't completely incompetent in. Great at it? No, but she at least had enough confidence in herself to be able to use the damn thing without tripping over herself.

Or at least she did until she was silently told to make the first move.

Anora's gaze lifted from the training saber to the Master across from her, and her brow creased until it nearly met in the middle. That...was an intimidating instruction - yet that thought alone seemed to at least steel her spine somewhat. It was an instruction. So with that in mind, she activated the saber and yet she didn't move forward yet. Despite knowing that he could be armed in an instant, the fact remained that this Master wasn't yet wielding his own saber, and Anora had too much honor to lunge an attack someone who wasn't visibly armed.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

She had hesitated. That was the first mistake. Whether by honor or fear, she had refused to strike. Josh normally wasn't a hard Master, he was quite laid-back actually... But he had to make it quite clear that she wouldn't be harming him whatsoever if she struck. He would hold out a hand, and all of a sudden Anora would find herself flying across the room. Not too far, and not to harm her, but she would figure out quite quickly that he was no unarmed man.

He did not speak. Simply made the same motion to attack him, once again. He did not speak. He didn't need to, not yet. Not until she gave him reason to speak and to correct - and to teach. But for now, he wanted her to learn on her own.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

There wasn’t even time for a gasp from Anora when she was shoved back. Without expecting the move, it made her stumble over herself and knocked her flat on her backside, and she stared for only a moment before frowning and getting back to her feet. She didn’t even take the time to dust herself off – not that she needed it of course – before she went back to her original spot to resituate herself. The training saber was then reactivated, and the brunette moved. She lunged forward with a strike, not hesitating this time, but also not full out attacking either. At least not yet.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

If she hadn't been his Padawan, he'd have probably made a joke about falling on her rather ample backside, but this was a serious training session and he was training a Padawan, so his laid-back, flirtatious jokes would just have to wait. He would wait patiently, watching her with a stone cold expression until she struck.

He didn't activate his lightsaber, instead he would move just slightly, but just enough to avoid the attack. He wanted her to continue to strike - no hesitations - no openings. She couldn't afford to leave any openings or they could be exposed and exploited. That was a lesson that she needed to learn, and quickly... Or she would be cut down very, very quickly on the field of battle.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

The more he continued to move, the more frustrated it seemed to make Anora. And while she didn't let her frustration bleed into her strikes, she did let said frustration fuel her movements. She became more fluid, with less hesitation between her strikes. She obviously wasn't going to harm him, so why should she be concerned about such a thing? So she just let herself strike. She alternated between slashes, strikes, and blows with ease. Clearly she had good technique in wielding the saber itself, but her footwork needed improvement. She wasn't clumsy by any means, but she wasn't exactly sturdy with the way she moved either.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Frustration would get her nowhere. Frustration wasn't a trait that a Jedi could allow to control them in battle. He would continue to block, here and there and everywhere, with his expression blank and serious, but focused as he would block her strikes. He watched her movements, trying to gauge her habits and patterns to see where she needed to improve. "Relax" He finally spoke as he would block her strikes. "Don't get frustrated. Patience. You need patience!" Josh would add as he would suddenly strike back, attacking with a flurry of slashes the moment that Anora left an opening.

While he wasn't going at his hardest, he wasn't taking it all that easy on her either. Luckily his lightsaber was set to low power...

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

One strike. That she could handle. It didn't feel great, but it hadn't hurt either. A second strike however brought a hiss from her lips, but it also motivated her to switch her tactics from blows to defending herself long enough for her to get her bearings back. A third strike through the hole in her defense was too much, and that frustration started to edge towards anger. But she didn't strike with it, she shifted her defense instead and focused on her breathing. She needed to calm - hell that had been an instruction in fact, and he was right. Getting angry was only going to cloud her judgment and she couldn't afford that.

So instead she focused on defending herself and self soothing through careful, even breaths - well, as even as they could be while in her current situation.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Calm" He spoke flatly as he would strike once again, sensing the frustration - and even the anger - beginning to build up. "Anger leads to the dark side. Frustration leads to anger. Do you see the pattern?" He would ask as he would back up, lowering his lightsaber. But make no mistake about it, his defenses were far from down. Oh, far from it. If she were to strike, she would only suffer from a blow worse then before."

"Patience, my Padawan. Always have patience" Josh would scold as he would raise a brow. "Why do you feel frustration, Anora? Do tell."

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Despite him backing away, Anora didn't lower her saber or drop her guard. She looked him over quickly, then took only a single step back as she did her best to take his instruction. Calm, she needed to calm. As such, she took a slow and steadying breath, and let it out just as slowly. He was right - of course he was - and she knew as such. Frustration would bleed into anger, and that would get her nowhere good.

"I'm sorry," she was quick to apologize, though she had to really think about where the frustration had come from, and she came up with nothing. Her head shook and her brow creased while she continued to try and find where such an emotion had stemmed from, but there was nothing that stuck out more than anything else in her mind. "I..." she started, and her brow creased more until it nearly met in the middle, "I'm uncertain..." Well, at least she was honest.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He would take a breath and wait, patiently awaiting her explanation. He let it sink in what he had said as he listened to what she had to say. He would raise an eyebrow when she would apologize. "No, don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself, Padawan" He spoke curtly, shaking his head. "The only thing holding you back from becoming a true Jedi, Anora... Is yourself. Your own frustration, your own impatience, your own anger. You are the key. You are the key to your success... And you are also the key to your failure."

He drew his blade once again. "Come at me again. Hopefully in time you can figure out just why you find yourself frustrated, and push it away. Push it from your mind, while we are human... Frustration does lead to anger. And anger will only lead you toward the path of the Sith."

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Being the key to her own failure was not at all helpful. Well, it was helpful naturally, but it didn't make her feel much better. Of course she knew it was perfectly true; she'd heard plenty of stories, and whether they were true or just made up to scare others didn't matter. Anger and woes lead to darker paths, and that wasn't going to get her anywhere good.

So she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It helped to calm her a little - only a little - so she did it again, and again until she felt lighter. It wasn't that she had felt troubled in the first place, intimidation had been a factor perhaps. Whatever it was, she did what she could to push it away, and then activated the training saber again.

When she moved at him now, her movements weren't any faster and her footwork wasn't any better - that was what she needed help with, after all - but her strikes were more fluid, more precise. Not more force or strength behind them, but she was watching now, aware of openings and opportunities to strike - even if she hadn't found any yet, at least she was watching.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Making her feel better was not the point of this exercise. It was to train her to be a Jedi. Josh wasn't a hard, strict instructor. But he would be blunt when he needed to be and this was a time that he needed to be blunt and truthful. He would breathe, relax... The same as she would, and should always be doing. He would wait for her to move, and when she did, he was ready for her. Her movements were fluid, precise. Calm. Good, good... Just as he had instructed.

He would block them with a calm precision, before going on the offensive again, with a variety of attacks. He would strike quickly, spinning to confuse, striking to the left shoulder to stun. No movement was wasted, every movement held a purpose. The moment it struck saber or shoulder, he would move again, toward the right elbow, this time to diver the saber that way before returning with a harder fury to the left shoulder to try the stun again - followed by a series of strikes around the body with a sudden increase in speed to see how his student handled under increasingly mounting pressure.

The test was on.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Anora had been fine while he was on the defense. She kept herself in check and continued to move with ease. However, when defense turned into offense, she had been fine at first. Her saber met his repeatedly, defending herself and keeping herself from being struck. She had even managed to block the aim for her shoulder, but after that point? She started to falter. Her wielding was fine, she had already demonstrated that much, but this is where her footwork failed her.

It had been difficult, but she managed to keep up at first. Though when speed increased, the brunette stumbled and then tripped over her own feet and fell backwards. She hit with a huff of expelled air, and for a moment was disoriented enough to blink rapidly at the ceiling. She then slowly sat herself up on one of her elbows and just sort of stared at him while she tried to catch her breath.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

She had left her guard down, and fallen. He would stop when she did, deactivating his lightsaber and motioning for her to do the same. Fair enough, that was good for the time being. He would reach over to help her to her feet, and once he did, he would take a breath and start to pace the room before speaking again.

"Emotion, yet peace.​

Ignorance, yet knowledge.​

Passion, yet serenity.​

Chaos, yet harmony.​

Death, yet the Force."​

​

He gazed back at her. "I want you to recite that again, as you have been taught. I want it to remain in your memory, always. It is not just a code, but part of our very way of life. It dictates us, and yet it is part of where we draw from our strength. If we find ourselves straying too far from it... Then we are lost. Granted... The one I tend to recite, I'll admit, is different from the one that might be recited to most. You would be best to learn both. But today, we'll recite mine. The one I prefer to recite is less dated, and acknowledges that Jedi are not as restrained as they once were, but still need to be wary of things that can lead to the dark side..."

He took a breath as he opened his eyes to look at him. "Once again, repeat after me."

"Emotion, yet peace.​

Ignorance, yet knowledge.​

Passion, yet serenity.​

Chaos, yet harmony.​

Death, yet the Force."​

​

[member="Anora Vahn"]​

 

[Anora Vahn]

Anora's cheeks had puffed out for a moment, but she deactivated the saber and then took the offered hand up. When he started to pace the room, she took only a moment to dust her backside off, though her eyes tracked him while he paced, and she listened while he spoke as well. She took in the things that were said to her and her brow creased ever so slightly.

She wet her lips and made a noise in her throat when asked to repeat with him, but she didn't have an issue with following his instructions.

"Emotion, yet peace.​

Ignorance, yet knowledge.​

Passion, yet serenity.​

Chaos, yet harmony.​

Death, yet the Force."​

She didn't have an issue with recite, she was quick to learn even when it wasn't something she already knew. There was only a slight waver to her tone, but it was from the previous strain of saber wielding rather than any emotion she was bothered with. So she took a slow, deep breath and let it out just as slowly as she continued to watch him.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh nodded in approval as she would recite the Code as necessary. Yes, his Code was indeed a little different from the universally taught one. It was more about balance, and doing the right thing despite the fact you were human (Or whatever race you were). It represented empathy, compassion, the Light side of the Force in it's purest form. It acknowledged that people made mistakes, but could overcome them and become a force for good, to protect the people of this galaxy. To be the peacekeepers that the Jedi were supposed to be.

"Next, we will test your progress as a Force wielder. Are you ready, Padawan?" He would inquire, waiting for an answer in affirmative before walking over to the training room's console and logging in, starting to fiddle with some settings. Soon enough, a large cube would fall from the ceiling and hit the floor. Josh would crack his neck before holding out a hand and watching as the cube would fly across the room due to a Force Push. Josh would then relax and allow himself to telekinetically move the cube back to it's original position.

"We will use this cube to test how much you've been practicing your powers. I want to see a Force Push. On the cube" He would instruct. It was a simple gauge of her progress. Nothing more. Just a ways to see where she was and give tips on how she could improve, develop and grow.

"Proceed."

[member="Anora Vahn"]